HRC Blog

Momentum Builds Towards Marriage in Illinois

Even with the Illinois House on a break this week, momentum continues to build for marriage equality in the Land of Lincoln. Over 250 volunteers showed up for a highly successful rally Saturday outside of Representative Chapa LaVia’s office in Aurora. And yesterday, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, Representative Dunkin, announced his intention to vote for SB10. This morning, state Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced her support for marriage in an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune. And in this morning’s Sun Times, republican representative Dave Sullivan assured readers that even with the harassment he is experiencing, he remains steadfast in his intention to vote for marriage equality.

With all of this movement, it is beginning to feel like a vote could happen in the Illinois House sooner rather than later. Representatives will return to Springfield on Tuesday, 4/30. At that point they will have just 25 working days to wrap up the business before them, including consideration of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.

The Illinois Unites for Marriage field team continues to be laser focused on making sure undecided representatives hear directly from their constituents about why a YES vote on marriage is important. With only a short time remaining until the end of Spring Session, it’s more critical than every that every shift at every phonebank is filled. Every lost hour on the phone could translate into the loss of a potential yes vote. If you’re interested in lending a hand in these final days, let us know.

Since January, I’ve been on the ground in Illinois helping lead the field effort of the Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition. I've seen the incredible fifteen-member field team at work and I've met awesome volunteers at our activities across the state. I know the work HRC is doing in partnership with our friends at Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal, Freedom to Marry and the ACLU is vitally important in impacting the final outcome of this legislation. We need you in order to push this over the finish line.